During-effort fuel · gel · reviewed 26 Aug 2026

Clif Shot Energy Gel 51

Item: Clif Shot Energy Gel
Rating: 51
Author: Lourenço Faria e Maia

CLIF Bar & Company / 34 g sachet / 24 g carbohydrate / $1.67

A five-ingredient, mostly-organic gel built on maltodextrin and cane sugar rather than maltodextrin and fructose, at close to a dollar less per box than the category's cheaper end.

Score breakdown

Each dimension below is scored 0 to 100 against a fixed scale, not against the rest of the catalog, so adding a product never moves this number. The overall score is the average of the dimensions this product declares data for. How the scales are set →

51/100

Mixed

Based on 3 of 4 measures ?A dimension a product doesn't declare is left out of its average rather than counted against it, so this score reflects fewer measures than a product with a full panel.

Carb density ?How much fuel one sachet carries. 90 g is the ceiling here, matching the top of the range cited for multi-transportable-carb intake.27

Value (cost/gram) ?Price of one gram of carbohydrate. Not physiological: a market-based scale from 15 cents/g (0) to 2 cents/g (100).62

Gut comfort ?A proxy, not a taste or tolerance test: shorter ingredient lists score higher, from 15 ingredients (0) to 1 (100). Nobody has actually run these through anyone's gut for this score.64

Cost per gram of carbohydrate

7 cents/g

Glucose : fructose · not disclosed

n/d

Comparison

5 of 38 gels held

Prices per single sachet at the cheapest box size we track. Best in green, worst in red, across the gels shown.

Measure	CLIF Bar & Company Clif Shot Energy Gel	Maurten Maurten Gel 100	Science in Sport SiS Beta Fuel Gel	Precision Fuel & Hydration Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel	NEVERSECOND NEVERSECOND C30 Gel
Overall scoreAn average of the various variables measured.	51	47	58	49	42
CarbohydrateHow much fuel one sachet carries.	24 g	25 g	40 g	30 g	30 g
Glucose : fructoseGoverns how fast you absorb it. More fructose, higher ceiling.	n/d	1 : 0.8	1 : 0.77	1 : 0.5	1 : 0.5
SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat.	90 mg	20 mg	30 mg	not declared	200 mg
ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred.	Not disclosed	Stated	Derived	Stated	Stated
Price per sachetWhat one costs. Not comparable across sachet sizes.	$1.67	$3.75	$2.50	$3.12	$3.50
Cost per gramThe only price that compares across sachet sizes.	7 cents	15 cents	6.3 cents	10.4 cents	11.7 cents
Sachets for 90 g/hrHow many you open an hour to hold a 90 g/hr target.	3.8	3.6	2.3	3.0	3.0

Verdict

what it does · what it costs

What it does well

Five ingredients, ~90% organic, no gums or preservatives beyond potassium citrate.
90 mg of sodium, more than most gels here that don't specifically market themselves on it.
Non-caffeinated by default in this flavor, with caffeinated flavors sold separately.

What it costs you

No glucose-to-fructose ratio: the carb source is maltodextrin plus cane sugar (sucrose), not a declared glucose:fructose blend.
6.9 cents a gram is a mid-pack price: 4Endurance's 2:1 Gel costs less than half as much per gram (2.9 cents).
24 g a sachet means over 3.7 an hour to hold 90 g/hr.

Where to buy

Prices and links as last checked. The price next to the name above is per unit at the cheapest box size we track; a single-unit price below may run higher.

No current listing: Running Warehouse no longer carries this 24-pack. The price above is from the last check.

Who this is for

the numbers, applied

The field tells you what it is. This is who should act on it.

Worth the money if

You want a short, mostly-organic ingredient list at a mid-range price.
You value sodium in the gel itself over a stated carb ratio.

Look elsewhere if

You're chasing the lowest cost per gram in the category.
You specifically want a declared, verifiable absorption ratio.